The Commerce Department's United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today announced the designation of the J. Murrey Atkins Library of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte as a Patent and Trademark Depository Library (PTDL). PTDLs maintain complete collections of over 6.7 million patents and nearly 2 million active or pending trademark registrations, as well as other related information in various print and electronic media to support the diverse intellectual property needs of the public. The official designation certificate will be presented this evening at the 27th PTDL Annual Training Seminar in Arlington, Va.

"The PTDL will be of great value to the large business community in the Charlotte area," said Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Acting Director of the USPTO Jon Dudas. "USPTO's PTDL program will allow UNC's J. Murrey Atkins Library to provide Charlotte area inventors and entrepreneurs with access to a wealth of information found only in patent and trademark documents and provide expert staff assistance in its usage."

USPTO's Patent and Trademark Depository Library Program is a nationwide network of public, state and academic libraries authorized to disseminate patent and trademark information and to support inventors, intellectual property attorneys and agents, business people, researchers, entrepreneurs, students, historians and the general public who are not able to come to USPTO's offices in Arlington, Va. Services at the libraries are free, and include assistance in accessing and using patent and trademark documents, training on USPTO databases, obtaining access to the USPTO website, and hosting public seminars on intellectual property topics for novice and experienced innovators.

A grand opening celebration will be held at the library in Charlotte on April 20, 2004.

The Patent and Trademark Depository Library Program began in 1871 when federal law first provided for the distribution of printed patents to libraries for use by the public. The addition of the J. Murrey Atkins Library to the PTDL network makes a total of 86 libraries located in 49 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. A list of all the current libraries can be found on USPTO's website at www.uspto.gov.